Eleanor J

Profile:

I was state-school educated, and experienced when applying for sixth form people telling me that my ambition to go to Cambridge “didn’t matter”. My mum got quite angry with the head of sixth form, told him that he needed to change his attitude, and afterwards we decided I would look for another sixth form which would be more supportive. The sixth form I attended had an access programme link with Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge and I successfully applied to read Law at Caius after my A-Levels, leaving in 2005.

I secured a training contract with social housing specialist firm Devonshires Solicitors which started in 2007. I qualified into the banking & corporate team at Devonshires in 2009, moving to the banking & finance team at Trowers & Hamlins in 2012. I am a real estate finance lawyer with a particular specialism in working with social housing providers on a wide range of funding transactions. In 2017 I was promoted to partner at Trowers & Hamlins at the age of 33 at just under 8 years PQE. In 2018 I was privileged to lead my first £1bn + deal for one of Trowers’ social housing clients.

Great lawyers are defined by their personal qualities, not how much their parents earnt or what university or school they attended. Now I’m responsible for some hiring decisions, I know that what makes a good banking lawyer is drive, attention to detail and being able to provide great service to clients. We can’t tell whether people have all of those just from their CV – and at interview people can really come alive.

Many people have helped and supported me through my legal career and so I’m a professional ambassador to help and support people as I myself have been.

My husband left school at 16 and following several job changes along the way he is now qualifying to be a Chartered Legal Executive through the distance learning route. There are many ways to work in the legal profession and not all of them need to involve a degree!

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